Question about Declawing and Cat Anatomy

ursulaandbuffy · May 22, 2015

Hi! I was just wondering if anyone knows if cats ACTUALLY bear weight on the part of their feet that get amputated when they are declawed. I know there are lots of reasons to not declaw your cat, and I'm very familiar with them, but I have read some articles that say cats don't actually bear weight on that specific bone that gets cut off and it does not hurt their walking... I tried to look up cat paw skeletons, but I have actually found some that show some weight borne on that bone and some that show that it doesn't. Is there anyone here who is particularly familiar with feline anatomy and can tell me -- Does a cat REALLY put weight on that bone when he or she walks or runs?

Ps I am not considering declawing my cats; I trying to talk my friend out of declawing hers. She's had cats before that were "just fine" after being declawed, so she thinks it's a fine idea.

Kat0121 · May 22, 2015

UrsulaAndBuffy said:
Hi! I was just wondering if anyone knows if cats ACTUALLY bear weight on the part of their feet that get amputated when they are declawed. I know there are lots of reasons to not declaw your cat, and I'm very familiar with them, but I have read some articles that say cats don't actually bear weight on that specific bone that gets cut off and it does not hurt their walking... I tried to look up cat paw skeletons, but I have actually found some that show some weight borne on that bone and some that show that it doesn't. Is there anyone here who is particularly familiar with feline anatomy and can tell me -- Does a cat REALLY put weight on that bone when he or she walks or runs?

Ps I am not considering declawing my cats; I trying to talk my friend out of declawing hers. She's had cats before that were "just fine" after being declawed, so she thinks it's a fine idea.

Amputating the part of their feet that contains the claws drastically alters the conformation of the feet so yes.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/declawing/physical-consequences-of-declawing/

http://amby.com/cat_site/health.html

catpack · May 22, 2015

Yes, cats do in fact bare weight on that particular section of bone. All you have to do is watch a cat walk.

I think the best way to tell the anatomy changes that occur are from x-rays showing a cat's posture and bone structure prior to surgery and repeated x-rays 2,3,4,5,6+ years after. Unfortunately, there just isn't much documentation of this.

Declawing changes the way a cat carries their weight. Cats just compensate for it, though usually at the cost of earlier onset arthritis and pain (which we all know cats are good at hiding.)

ursulaandbuffy · May 22, 2015

Ah! The first link helped to clear it up... And I agree that x-rays done over time would be an excellent resource. My friend thinks her cat was "just fine" and has no pain even though she's old, but not only are cats good at hiding pain, but this cat in particular is very small and doesn't weigh much, which I suspect might mean that the pressure on her joints may not have been as severe as in a full-sized cat. That is just a theory I have.

stephenq · May 22, 2015

UrsulaAndBuffy said:
Ah! The first link helped to clear it up... And I agree that x-rays done over time would be an excellent resource. My friend thinks her cat was "just fine" and has no pain even though she's old, but not only are cats good at hiding pain, but this cat in particular is very small and doesn't weigh much, which I suspect might mean that the pressure on her joints may not have been as severe as in a full-sized cat. That is just a theory I have.

http://www.pawproject.org/

Question about Declawing and Cat Anatomy

ursulaandbuffy

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Kat0121

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catpack

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ursulaandbuffy

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stephenq

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